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Anu

UnisexGirls' nameBoys' name

Multiple documented origins; meaning depends on tradition

Anu has been given to 367 babies in the U.S. since 1972. It was used fewer than 5 times in 2025, so it doesn't appear in the latest year's list — today it's a genuinely uncommon pick. Its peak year was 2004, with 15 recorded. It's used for both sexes: 77% girls, 23% boys all-time.

Babies named Anu, 2024

1 in 418,000

Anu over time, 1880–2025

GirlsBoys
0510152018801900192019401960198020002020

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Girls or boys — Anu over time

In 2025, Anu went to 0% girls and 100% boys.

19722025

A sex is only published in years it reached five applications, so a stretch at 0% or 100% means the other side stayed under that floor — not that it was never used.

Anu: meaning, origin, and history

Multiple documented origins; meaning depends on tradition

Deeper origin not confirmed in the cited records

What Anu means

Anu has more than one naming route in the cited origin entries: distinct naming traditions.

The naming story behind Anu

A separate documented entry treats Anu as a diminutive of Anna. That is a personal-name relationship, which differs from translating the letters of the modern spelling into one universal English word. The linked origin entry identifies the context of this relationship.

Origin, language, and formation

Anu is used in English, Estonian and Finnish.

Related names and everyday forms

Related names include Anna.

Pronunciation and spelling

In Finnish, Anu is pronounced /ˈɑnu/.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 282 girls were recorded with the name Anu between 1972 and 2024. Its highest annual count was 15 in 2004; its best national rank was #6,523 in 1975.

In the United States, 85 boys were recorded with the name Anu between 2005 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 18 in 2023; its best national rank was #5,261 in 2023.

Sources & methodologyReferences, data & attribution

Meaning, origin, and language notes draw on the references below.

American popularity figures use published Social Security Administration records for this exact spelling. Counts below five for a name, sex, and year are omitted.

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

How common is Anu?

Anu had fewer than 5 recorded uses in 2025, so these figures use 2024, the last year it was published.

Among all babies, 2024
1 in 418,000
8 of 3,342,801 births
Among girls only
1 in 203,000
<0.01% of girls
Rank, 2024
Unranked
Fewer than 5 uses
Coin-flip room size
289,633 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Anu sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Olivia (13,544)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2024 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%
Class of 30Under 1%
Grade of 100Under 1%
School of 500Under 1%

Put another way: gather 289,633 children born in 2024 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Anu. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Anus were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Anu was born before 2006 — so the typical Anu is around 19 today.

Median birth year
2006
About 19 years old
Biggest decade
2000s
26.6% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
66.0%
A modern name
Recorded since 1950
282
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

2000s — 26.6% of all recorded uses (75).

Is Anu rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago
—
Not ranked then
Rank vs 5 years ago
New entry
Not ranked then
Rank vs 10 years ago
—
Not ranked then
Births vs 10 years ago
—
Not published both years
Share of its own peak
0%
Peak was 2004 (15)
Years since peak
21
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Volatile
31.9% average annual change
Best rank ever
#6,523
1975

Anu around the world

Where Anu ranks in official birth records elsewhere in the world. Rankings only — the number of births isn’t comparable between places, so it isn’t shown.

  • England & Wales
    1996–2016
    #5,785
    in 2016
  • Ireland
    2003–2016
    #868
    in 2016
  • France
    2017–2017
    #7,687
    in 2017
  • South Australia
    2013–2013
    #818
    in 2013

Popularity data from Office for National Statistics, Central Statistics Office, Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques and Consumer and Business Services (South Australia). ONS data under Open Government Licence v3.0. CSO, CBS SA data under CC BY 4.0. INSEE data under Licence Ouverte / Etalab 2.0.

Anu by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
Unranked
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
—
Best rank ever
#6,523
1975
Peak year
2004
15 that year
First recorded
1972
Last recorded
2024
All-time count
282
Count in 2025
Under 5

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
#8,304
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
New entry
Best rank ever
#5,261
2023
Peak year
2023
18 that year
First recorded
2005
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
85
Count in 2025
9

Names similar to Anu

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

AnumAnuheaAnujaAnuriKeanuAnushreeAnupamaAnuvaAnushkaAnushaBanuAnuraAnushriAnuhyaAnuradhaAnuliAnuskaAnujinAnureetIyanuAnuoluwaAnushManuAnusri

Sibling names for Anu

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

Explore around Anu

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